Once Burned
by Sebe
Summary: Derek learns about Scott's betrayal and confronts Stiles, thinking he's in on it. He's not. Pre-Sterek and Scott and Stiles friendship. Written before 2x11.


Author's Notes: Something I wrote after 2x10-thereabouts? After Derek finds out Scott was informing on him to Gerard. Pretty much what could have happened next. Derek is pissed, he assumes Stiles was in on it, leading to confused, then pissed off Stiles. With bonus pre-Sterek bonding and examination of Stiles and Scott's friendship, cause all true friendships go through strain, but they usually come out stronger for it.

Summary: Derek learns about Scott's betrayal and confronts Stiles, thinking he's in on it. He's not. Pre-Sterek and Scott and Stiles friendship. Written before 2x11.

**Once Burned**

"You were working with him the whole time." Stiles is pinned again, of course, because Derek's here and that's how this goes. Still, he hasn't seen this level of anger in the wolf for a while now.

"Okay, so are we gonna play twenty questions where I try to figure out what's got your fur ruffled this time or-"

"You and Scott have been working with Gerard this entire time!"

"Are you crazy? He's trying to kill Scott-"

"I heard Scott talking to him. I _know_, Stiles. What's your plan, huh? Tear the pack apart once you get all the dirt you can?"

Stiles only catches the first part because his brain has stuttered to a stop which is, truly a remarkable feat.

"…What?" He's shaking his head, not even thinking as he reaches for his phone. "Scott wouldn't-"

Derek slams him back.

"Don't lie anymore!"

"You're wrong! You got a wire crossed in that werewolkf hearing or you're just insane, but you're wrong! Get off of me!"

Stiles shoves him and it's only because Derek lets him that he gets away, grabbing his phone. He punching in Scott's number, muttering to himself.

"Stiles, what's-"

"Have you been talking to Allison's grandfather?"

"What?" If he hadn't known Scott since they were in diapers, he'd have never caught the tell in his voice. When had he gotten so good at lying? He'd always sucked at it…hadn't he? "No, I-"

"You're lying." Stiles hisses it in disbelief, in hurt. The confidence is gone from Scott's voice. He sounds unsure again, like Scott again. He doesn't give his friend time to stumble over another lie or an apology. "I'm coming over. Now. You're going to be there. You got that?"

Scott makes noises like he wants to say something, but thinks better of it. He sounds like a scolded child when he answers.

"I…yeah. I'll be here."

Stiles hangs up with no further words. He has his jacket and keys in his hand before he turns to the door to find Derek still standing there. He's just staring at Stiles. For once, his expression's not entirely unreadable. His face looks like Scott's voice had sounded; halfway to a malformed apology and he doesn't have time for this now.

"You gonna move so I can get some answers or just stand there and practice looming?"

Derek doesn't move right away and Stiles stares him down. For once, Derek looks away first.

"You didn't know." It's soft and not a question. Stiles is at least happy about that.

"You're a genius."

Derek steps out of the way and Stiles is almost out the door when he stops. There's something about Derek right then that won't let him just leave without giving him _something_.

"Just…I'll find out what the hell's going on from Scott after or before I kill him, not sure which yet. I'll let you know what I find out after. So just go back to the pack for now, okay?" _'Don't run around town half-cocked when we apparently don't have any clue what's happening now'._

Derek looks at him a long moment, before nodding.

"House. Not the train."

"Got it."

Stiles heads down the hallway and hears Derek make his exit from his window. As he starts the jeep, he hopes Derek remembered to latch it. It looks like rain.

Stiles is angry in a way he hasn't been for a very long time, and never with Scott. It's the kind of hurt rage that leaves him cold inside.

"How could you do this? How could you not tell me you were doing this?!"

"I was trying to protect you."

"By not letting me know anything? Gerard wants you dead, whatever else he told you was a lie or a half-truth. How could you be this stupid-"

"I told you! I'm protecting everyone! You included!"

"Bullshit! Gerard's crazy and vengeful and nothing else! He's not like Chris or Allison! He doesn't care about anything else! He's Kate, Scott. Don't you get that?" His voice has gone low and icy, but his eyes are blazing. "He's gonna use you to take out every last werewolf you can lead him to and then, he's gonna kill you. And he's not gonna stop. Anyone that's helped them, he'll turn on them too. My dad, your mom, me, maybe even Allison if she gets in his way. You're not protecting us, you're lining us up for a firing squad."

Stiles never yells at Scott. Never. Not like this. It's enough to make the boy actually flinch back, eyes wide like he's finally realizing the gravity of what he's done. Not the implications for the pack or the town or anything like that, but just what he's done to Stiles and their relationship. For the first time in their lives, Scott is hit with the chillingly cold realization that he may lose Stiles. This could end them. Or at least damage them in a permanent way.

"I…" _'I'm sorry'_, would sound too empty, too lacking, so Scott doesn't know what to say. He shakes his head and looks to the floor, bereft. He sees Stiles pace a bit before standing near the wall, looking out the window. Stiles is exhausted from this. Like every ounce of energy has been drained from him with just words. Scott still doesn't know if his allegiance is wrong, but he knows his lies have been. May have been so catastrophically wrong that he's lost something he never thought before could be taken away, never had an ounce of fear about losing because it was as certain as breathing.

"…You hate me for this now, right?" He can't keep the tremor out of his voice. He fears the answer.

Stiles is quiet for a long time and Scott feel cold creeping over him. Finally, Stiles takes a deep breath, still not looking at Scott.

"You're my friend, you idiot. I could never hate you even if you murdered a bus full of kittens." It's the kind of thing Stiles says to make him laugh, but it on auto-pilot. Not an ounce of humor in it. "You're my brother and I love you, I'd die for you. But I don't trust you. And I don't like you very much right now."

Scott bites back sudden emotion and just nods his head. He doesn't look up when Stiles walks past him to the door. He doesn't think he can bear seeing Stiles not looking at him. When he sees Stiles almost gone, he can't help himself.

"We'll be…I mean…" He looks at Stiles back, doesn't miss the significance of his friend not turning to face him. There's something desperate in his chest. "We'll be okay, right?"

He thinks he's having one of Stiles' panic attacks when it takes a small lifetime to get an answer.

"…eventually. Yeah. I think so. Just…leave me alone for awhile, okay?"

It stings like nothing else, but Scott nods as Stiles walks away. It's the best he could hope for.

Derek remembers Scott mentioning something once, mumbled to himself under his breath like he was trying to understand it, but it was a passing curiosity that faded in and out like trying to solve a rubix cude, so Derek didn't think Scott had ever understood the words he'd repeated or what the person who had said them really meant.

'_Being broken up sucks, but being alone? Is way worse.'_

In that moment, Derek understood. Stiles had never been the popular kid, the one people wanted to be around and gravitated towards, but he'd been okay with that. Stiles had his dad, a handful of friends and acquaintances.

And Scott. Even when his friend had begun spending less time with him, absorbed in his own mounting teenage werewolf problems and his girlfriend hunter love escapades, Stiles always had Scott at the end of it. They'd been glue-eating toddlers together, they shared pain and laughter and secrets between them that they'd take to their graves.

But that wasn't true anymore, was it?

Possibly the biggest, most dangerous situation in their lives and Scott hadn't let Stiles in on what he was doing. Who he was siding with in this war. Because that's what it was and they all knew it. And war…

People died in war. So Scott had chosen his side, the wrong side, and had left Stiles out in the middle of the field, not even knowing where the lines of allegiance were drawn.

Derek could empathize.

After shaking the rest of his pack, Derek headed toward the Hale house. He found Stiles waiting, like he said he would be, sitting on the front steps of the burned out former home. His shoulders were hunched in a bit and he looked small and vulnerable and Derek didn't like it.

Stiles didn't look up when Derek sat next to him, shoulders touching. Stiles appreciated it, really. Knew how much that had to mean coming from Derek of all people.

They were quiet for a long time, just sitting in silence that was everything but uncomfortable. Finally though, Derek felt he had to at least try to comfort, offer some understanding or advice. He knew what betrayal felt like, after all. He was an expert.

"It's just…" He stumbled and Stiles heard him make a frustrated sound, like he was trying to find the right words to string together. "It's better not to trust anyone. You can't be let down, you can't be betrayed."

Stiles thought he'd be angry, usually he would have been. But something about how Derek said it like he believed it to his very core. It just made him sad. Stiles shook his head.

"You're wrong." Stiles felt the immediate bristle, but Derek didn't move away. "People hurt each other all the time. And the ones that really sting, they're the ones from the people you never see it coming from. So it hurts, yeah, and it sucks and I…don't like Scott very much right now. But he's my best friend. I'm not writing him off because he made a very large, gargantuan, deadly stupid mistake. We'll be okay just….not yet…"

"How can you keep letting him- all of them- in after…" Derek's more outwardly frustrated now, running a hand through his hair. "They're only gonna turn on you again. And next time, it's gonna be worse until you end up getting yourself killed because you kept around these useless people that only use you! You have to stop-"

"I didn't give up on you." Derek stops mid rant, looking at Stiles incredulously. "Dude, you threatened to kill me. A lot. But I didn't write you off."

"You wanted to shoot me in the head."

"I want to shoot Scott in the head all the time. I never actually do it. Or let anyone else do it." He shrugs like that's something Derek should have known. "I can't just never trust people, Derek. It's way too depressing. You should try it. You might get burned, but it'll heal. And the other option, knowing you can count on someone for anything, that's worth taking the chance."

Derek is quiet. Stiles doesn't try and dwell on what it means when Derek stays there, side of their bodies touching, for the rest of the night.


End file.
